My Fantasy RPG World, Feedback and Ideas appreciated

[Scalenex]

Here is a blank map of Scaraqua I edited to play with. This is not the final map, I am currently working on redesigning the continents to make them more dynamic shapes with more adjoining islands but the rough shape is going to remain like this for the foreseeable future.

Here is my starting map for Scaraqua. None of this is set in stone (I'm not sure I want to have Water Scythia for instance) If you are looking for a direct 1:1 connection between real world Ancient Rome and Water Rome, you are going to be very disappointing but it's a very loose starting point.

The labels mark their rough center of power. Scaraqua is going to have forests, mountains, and trenches but large portions of the ocean floor are fairly indistinct so borders are fuzzy. It is more accurate to think of these empires as having influence more than having control.

The farther you get from a Scaraquan power's underwater cities and fortifications the less direct power they can wield.

Water Rome is going to be the Oshamni Empire, but all other names are as of yet undecided. I reserve the right to move, change, or remove any of the other hypothetical nations.

Water Rome and Water China are the two strongest power. Water China is pretty isolationist and there are a lot of oceanic deserts and giant landmasses separating Water Rome and Water China. What Water Parthia does not have much resources or power themselves. but they have made a niche for themselves acting as middlemen for trade along the Water Silk Road.

So Water Rome's heartland is around Mera's Lake. Essentially Mera's Lake is "Water Italy." In thier past history, it took the city state of Oshamnus to conquer and assimilate with the "Water Etruscans" of Water Italy.

The Water Germani are the savage untamable barbarians from the frigid northern waters.

Water Greece is kind of a rival, but they are also the fading remnants of the cultural power that existed before Oshamnus was a thing. The Oshamni took a lot of their culture from Water Greece whether they admit or not.

Water Carthage is going to ban an on-again, off-again rival that the Oshamni are grinding down.

Water Egypt is going to be a frienemy kind of weird hybrid of an ancient culture of their won with a lot of influence from Water Greece. Maybe throw in an Anthony and Cleopatra style romance somewhere.

The Water Celts are going to be an exotic country that the Oshamni have mixed results trying to conquer.

For the most part, I don't want to make any nation be synonymous with merfolk, astalakians, karakhai, or whatever I end up calling the squid people.

Assuming I made an actually nice detailed map, each regional power would be split into vassal states and these smaller vassal states would likely be each dominated by one of the Scaraquan major races.

Scaraqua as a whole is probably going to look something like this if I don't add a fifth major race.

35% Merfolk
15% Astalakians
20% Squid people
20% Karakhai
10% Other

Oshamni Empire is going to look more like this.

40% Merfolk
25% Astalakians
20% Squid people
5% Karakhai
10% Other

The stereotypical view of Water Roman leadership is a merfolk sitting on the throne, attended to by Astalakian flunkies while shadowy squid people advisors whisper in their ear on how to handle the Karakhai barbarian threat.

While the Oshamni Empire has more merfolk influence than Scaraqua as a whole, it's not uncommon to find Merfolk in charge in most places.

More often that not merfolk are in charge. The Astalakians are not going to win any fights by themselves. They are the toughest and have the best weapons but they are the slowest least agile swimmers. Astalakians do great when teamed up with one of the other races because it provides a slow and steady tank/fortress formation for their more nimble allies to fall back to, but historically all-Astalakian forces get turned into crabcakes.

The Astalakians are not hard to please and are not especially ambitious. Astalakians like to build and they are not picky on who they build for. If you don't try to enslave them outright and just toss them some food and praise, they will happily serve a merfolk or squid person.

On paper, the squidfolk should be the Big Fish. They are smarter than everyone else and they are not weaklings in the physical department. They also have proportionally more spell-casters than any other common race under the sea.

Problem is that they are hypercompetitive with themselves. They all agree that squids should be in charge of all others, but they all want to be the squid king or queen on top. They spend so much time tearing their own kind down that it limits their time available to manipulate their "lessers."

Karakhai, Merfolk, and Astalakians don't have a problem following a leader of their own kind.


I want lots of "Other" in Scaraqua much like how Scarterra has tengku, kalazotz and other races (arguably including gnomes) that have their own distinct culture but they don't have the numbers to dominate great swaths of the world.

I plan to include more "Other" races in Scarterra too of course, but right now I'm on a Scaraqua kick.

 

[Lizards of Renown]

That means they aren't judged properly alive until they can not only talk, but handle complex abstract thought. That's a little too strict.

Hmmm..... Good point.

Maybe when they are first taken to the relevant church by their parents? (baptisms of sorts?) possibly an option for the more dedicated religions.

 

[Lord Agragax of Lunaxoatl]

Here is a blank map of Scaraqua I edited to play with. This is not the final map, I am currently working on redesigning the continents to make them more dynamic shapes with more adjoining islands but the rough shape is going to remain like this for the foreseeable future.

Here is my starting map for Scaraqua. None of this is set in stone (I'm not sure I want to have Water Scythia for instance) If you are looking for a direct 1:1 connection between real world Ancient Rome and Water Rome, you are going to be very disappointing but it's a very loose starting point.

Interesting that you are basing your merpeople on ancient civilisations (even if very loosely) - did you pinch that idea from Escalonia? (Joking)

So Water Rome's heartland is around Mera's Lake. Essentially Mera's Lake is "Water Italy." In thier past history, it took the city state of Oshamnus to conquer and assimilate with the "Water Etruscans" of Water Italy.

Water Greece is kind of a rival, but they are also the fading remnants of the cultural power that existed before Oshamnus was a thing. The Oshamni took a lot of their culture from Water Greece whether they admit or not.

Yep, you got Rome exactly right there

The Water Celts are going to be an exotic country that the Oshamni have mixed results trying to conquer.

Interesting, as long as you don’t make the mistake of making the Water Celts Scottish. Too many people associate the full extent of the Celtic civilisation with Braveheart (which is in itself a hideously inaccurate film). I’m on a mission to change that perception and I can’t have others fuelling the flames of ignorance.

 

[Scalenex]

Interesting, as long as you don’t make the mistake of making the Water Celts Scottish.

I was planning on making them Welsh.

Probably not though. Swynfaredia, I use a list of Welsh baby names for character names and mangled English-Welsh translations for place and house names.

Kantoc is getting some watered down recycled Arthurian lore.

Maybe when they are first taken to the relevant church by their parents? (baptisms of sorts?) possibly an option for the more dedicated religions.

Mera's Tender probably has baptisms. Mera is a water goddess that has the protection of children as part of her portfolio.

I went up in the rankings on World Anvil. Mostly by the people above me taking a break...slackers. I am now a mere 7 words away from sixth place in word count...I am a mere two articles shy of 5th place in number of articles.

As for the team of writers, I apparently can compete with them.

Hypothetically, I could let @Lord Agragax of Lunaxoatl be authorized to submit articles for Scarterra and he could let me submit Escalonia articles. Word count is by the author, not the world, so if I Lord Agragax wrote something for Scartera that would go to his word count, not mine.

I probably wouldn't authorize other people to write Scarterra articles though because I'm a control freak.

But anyway, back to rite of passages. We covered miles stones for babies, but what about milestones for death.

In the unlikely event, a camazotz survives to old age, I can imagine they might have some form of ritual suicide to die with honor before infirmity sets in. I imagine a camazotz would consider this as soon as their fighting abilities are impaired.

I imagine the kalazotz might have their own version of this. They are less bloodthirsty than the camazotz, but an elderly kalazotz would not want to be a burden on his/her family. Kalazotz would probably consider this when they are too feeble to fly.

When I looked at this concept for Saurus warriors I figured, they would walk into the jungle alone to die, but I don't see this as a good idea for flyers. if their problem is impaired flying, I don't see a last journey as feasible.

What's a good Mesoamerican spin on this. Quick, activate the @Warden signal!

 

[Lord Agragax of Lunaxoatl]

I was planning on making them Welsh.

That's fine then - proper Celts are the only real Celts. Accept no imitations!

Probably not though. Swynfaredia, I use a list of Welsh baby names for character names and mangled English-Welsh translations for place and house names.

I can see how that could be a problem - perhaps you should try basing your Celtic merpeople on Cornish or Bretons instead?

Hypothetically, I could let @Lord Agragax of Lunaxoatl be authorized to submit articles for Scarterra and he could let me submit Escalonia articles. Word count is by the author, not the world, so if I Lord Agragax wrote something for Scartera that would go to his word count, not mine.

I probably wouldn't authorize other people to write Scarterra articles though because I'm a control freak.

Same - I'd rather we each kept to our own stuff, so that neither of us would step on each other's toes and neither of us will have to try and remember the lore for each other's worlds when we've got our own to worry about.

 

[Scalenex]

I feel like I need to develop Uskala more now.

Here's what I have for the baseline of Uskala's inner workings. I would like to hear what your thoughts on this, especially the name. Fleder is based off of German for the animal bat which is Fledermous (flying mouse) and Schlaeger is the German word bat, as in baseball bat.

I'm not sure this is the best idea. I want these families to have subtly ominous names based on the German language somehow but German has so many cognates with English I'm now questioning whether my idea of using German as the baseline is good idea. Without further ado. Here is what I have so far.



King Drosst only comes at night which makes it hard for him to be a hands-on manager. Uskala conquered many smaller nations over its long history. Once Uskala had a reputation for being a military powerhouse, King Drosst was able to annex some lands with the pen and as well the sword.

Whether annexed by conquest or treaty, King Drosst rarely purged the leadership of the lands he conquered as long as the new leaders swore fealty to him. It was easier than raising new noble houses from nothing. As long as he got his taxes and levies, Drosst let his vassals run things as they saw fit.

The various noble houses began feuding with each other and fighting over land, gold, and various family vendettas. Drosst viewed this as a good thing initially because if his vassals hated each other, they would not be likely to unite against him. (The same strategy Turoch used incidentally). Eventually the intrigue, assassinations, and even the occasional military skirmishes against each other began to affect Drosst’s bottom line enough to annoy him.

House and House Fleder emerged at the top of the pack. Nearly all of the other houses were aligned with one of these two powers. The two houses had always been competitors but now they were bitter rivals and they were rallying their allies for a full on civil war. This was roughly eighty years ago.

King Drosst drew would brook no more of this nonsense.


By King Drosst’s orders, every unmarried lord and lady in Schläger and Fleder suddenly found themselves betrothed to someone in their rival house. Every older nobleman or noblewoman who complained too loudly about this faced a trumped up charge, suffered an “accident” or simply disappeared. This shake down took about twenty years to settle before the remaining nobles accepted the new status quo.

Afterward the shakedown, Drosst, formally merged the two families into one Schläger-Fleder unit. Then he gave the S-F family almost every royal appointment. Now the Schläger-Fleder family is effectively running the day-to-day operations of the kingdom of Uskala. The S-F family is not inbred (not yet anyway) but any outsiders need Drosst’s permission to marry into the family.

 

[Scalenex]

Same - I'd rather we each kept to our own stuff, so that neither of us would step on each other's toes and neither of us will have to try and remember the lore for each other's worlds when we've got our own to worry about.

It occurred to me last night that given that @pendrake, @Lord Agragax of Lunaxoatl , and myself all have World Anvil accounts, and we all spent a lot of time on the Westhammer thread. we could do a collaboration on World Anvil for the world of Westhammer.

I am far less possessive of Westhammer than Scarterra, but there are concerns.

One, I still think I could be a controlling jerk about Westhammer, Two I am concerned that with brandname recognition, my half-assed Westhammer World would become far more popular than Scarterra and Three, Games Workshop might frown on it.

 

[Scalenex]

In Dungeons and Dragons, the Terrasque is a kaiju like monster that devastates the landscape.

In French folklore, the terrasque was a scary monster but not nearly that scary.

Now here is the Scarterran version based heavily on the French version (I like the python style eating of people).

Go to Scarterra Homepage
Tarasconi
Tarasconis, singular Terasconus, are rarely seen but greatly feared. They are said to embody Korus' wrath, a rare and terrible thing.

A Tarasconus is a hideous chimeric monster with the head of a lion, tail of a snake, clawed legs like a dragon and a thick spiked shell. Roughly the size of full grown bull rhino.

Terasoconi are highly predatory and have a preference for mortal flesh, capable of swallowing human sized targets whole (if the target is dead or otherwise not struggling much).

Terasconi are very cunning hunters, have razor sharp teeth and claws, and can spew a poisonous miasma to weaken or even slay their prey. It is unclear whether Terasconi are very clever animals or are somewhat dim sapient beings.

Terasconi are usually released into the mortal plane when one or more mortals greatly offends Korus, usually by disrespecting or despoiling nature in a serious way. Sadly, a Terasconus is not very discriminate in it's targets. After being summoned it will generally begin attacking any mortal it finds.
Civilization And Culture
Culture And Cultural Heritage
A lot of the more militant branches of the Stewards like to put the imagery of Tarasconi on their armor, shields, and banners.


For quite a while I have been pondering a dramatic foil to unicorns. Korus is a schismatic dualistic deity. Unicorns represent his noble beautiful side and terasques represent his dark savage side. Unicorns also have an article on my World Anvil, but it's pretty vanilla. Scarterran unicorns are not that different from mainstream unicorns.

I am gaining ground on total word count, but losing ground on total number of articles. I've been sort of padding my article count with a bunch of short articles about spirits lately.

 

[Scalenex]

I did an internet search for "Sad bat" and was not disappointed.

Go to Scarterra Homepage
Massacre of the Grey Forest Kalazotz
The Grey Forest is the largest forest in West Colassia outside of Codenya. It was also home to the Grey Forest tribe of kalazotz, about four or five separate clans of kalazotz lived there.A lot of humans farmed near the Grey Forest and some went in the forest to hunt, harvest reagents, edible fruit or mushrooms, but never in excess because the forest was home to many Korus spirits and Stewards. Thus the Grey Forest was not quite wilderness, not quite settled. Unsurprisingly the kalazotz of the Grey Forest were very friendly with the (mostly human) Stewards, a few kalazotz were Stewards. Over time as the kalazotz and the local humans got used to each other they begun some minor trading.All was well. Then one day Uskala annexed all the lands around the Grey Forest and by extension claimed the Grey Forest. For a many decades decades, life didn't change much. The Uskalans and the kalazotz did little more than mildly inconvenience each other. Then King Drosst decided to cement ties to the Uskala's newest citizens, the camazotz by helping them eradicate the Grey Forest kalazotz.
The Conflict
Outcome
Uskalan soldiers bullied some of the local humans into telling them where the Grey Forest kalazotz had their nests. Then the Uskalans send squads to every nesting site, chopped down the trees their nests were in. A small number of kalazotz warriors attacked the Uskalans to buy time for the others to evacuate the pups.The human soldiers search the soldiers and chopped down any tree they found with which kalazotz tried to find shelter.With humans giving them no ground to seek shelter, camazotz armed with fine steel weapons hunted down the beleaguered survivors and slaughtered any kalazotz they found.
Aftermath
A few survivors made it underground and the sad tale circulated among most kalazotz on West Colassia though many of the details were lost.Most kalazotz were not aware that their problems specifically came from Uskala. The end result is a general distrust of humans if not an outright disdain for humans. It also gave kalazotz a low opinion of seeking allies among the Stewards.
Historical Significance
Legacy
Ever since the massacre of the Grey Forest kalazotz, every major attempt that kalazotz have made to venture into the surface world in West Colassia has been via partnership with elves or dwarves, but not humans.

 

[Scalenex]

But I already wrote an article about lycanthropy. Whatever will I do?

Korakthropy
Korakthropy is a rare mutation of the lycanthropy that afflict only tengku.

Humans and mammalian humanoids infected with lycanthropy can turn into a predatory animal (frequently but not always a wolf) and an animal humanoid hybrid. Tengku with Karakthropy always transform into a raven or a very large humanoid raven with very sharp claws and a very deadly beak.

Like lycanthropy, karakthropy nearly always ends with the afflicted tengku developing a fondness for random murder. Karakthropes are very hard to put down because they fly. They can murder a bunch of people in one village and then fly fifty miles to another village or even further. Ravens are fast and stealthy birds.

Late stage karakthropes are not invincible and they can brought down with ordinary weapons, but they have very fast supernatural regeneration so a lot of damage needs to be inflicted in a short amount of time to kill them.

Wounds inflicted by silver weapons, heal much slower taking hours or even days to disappear making this the preferred weapon of choice.Much like lycanthropes, the full the the inherit magic of the moon does not force a transformation or a killing spree. But any lycanthrope exposed to even a sliver of the full moon's light are exposed for what they are meaning they cannot hide in plain sight like they normally do. If the infected korakthrope has attracted organized armed resistance, most will choose to fly away to a remote location for the duration of the full moon rather than press the offensive (since their enemies will probably expect an attack on the full moon.

Lycanthropes often seek out their own kind and form small packs. Korakthropes are so rare it's almost impossible for such a group to form, but they have been seen to work in pairs in rare instances. The idea of korakthrope mated pairs has chilling implications but has yet to be proven.
Transmission & Vectors
A tenkgu can be infected is possible (though not guaranteed) to be transferred to a humanoid through a bite from a lycanthrope, assuming the subject survives the bite. A tengku is even more likely to be infected if wounded by a karakthrope, even if the victim was only scratched and not pecked.

Korakthropy can also be passed from parent to child though there have only been two recorded instances of an infected tengku having offspring. In one case the offspring manifested symptoms of Korakthropy at adolescence, in the other instance the offspring was slain as an infant when her father's condition was discovered and a magical divination spell revealed the chick was a carrier.

Tengku are not known for having especially strong libidos. Most tengku children are conceived by both parents making a plan rather than the accidental product of a night of passion. It has been noticed that stage one and two Korakthropes seem to radiate pheromones or some sort of vibe that makes them especially attracted to the opposite sex.
Symptoms
Stage One: Initially, the infected tengku feels good, if not great. They have more energy and vitality though the tengku has a noticeable increased appetite. They recover from their lyncanthrope inflicted injury quite quickly. Even their eyesight gets a bit sharper.

This period of increased energy can last for weeks or even months. Most tengku don't question anything is wrong because karakanthropy is so rare, most tengku haven't heard from it. They might question a human healer about lyncanthropy and either be told that lycanthropy only inflicts mammals not avians or they get explained the symptoms of stage one lycanthropy and then are relieved that they are not experiencing them.

Any increased vitality is usually rationalized as being a result of a brush with death leading to increased appreciation for life.

Stage Two: Headaches and dizziness. A lot of dreams about flying. Dreams about flying are common to even healthy tengku but these are especially vivid and intoxicating dreams. Increased irritability, sometimes accompanied by cravings for raw meat (note that tengku normally like their meat pretty rare to begin with).

Stage Three: The korakthrope starts transforming. Usually it takes a week or two at least for transformations to be fully controllable. Many tengku seek treatment at this stage, but many do not. Tengku with karakthropy can fly. That is something nearly all tengku secretly long for and it is hard to pass up even with the horrible strings attached.

Stage Four: The Korakthrope quickly develops bloodlust with a near constant urge to kill and eat things. Animals are okay in the short term, but mortal flesh is preferred and tengku flesh is preferred above all.

Frighteningly enough, karakanthropes typically have just enough restraint to lie low when organized hunters are seeking them out but not enough restraint to stop killing altogether. Lycanthropes on the other hand, typically do not have any restraint and will respond to hunters with automatic aggression.
Treatment
Rare herbs can be used to avoid the contagion of if the infected wound can be properly treated within a few days of the point of contact. The same medicines that treat early stage lycanthropy work on karakthropy (if someone thinks to use it, karakthropy is so rare many sages assume tengku are completely immune to the lycanthropy disease).Beyond this, only powerful magic usually amplified by an epic quest can cure an afflicted lycanthrope or korakthrope.

Most people, tengku included, choose to "cure" late stage korakthrope with several silver arrows to the torso.
History
The first recorded case of karakthropy was in 1157 though it is likely to have existed in some form before that. There are vague stories of humanoid raptor monsters in folklore long before that, though many storytellers and sages assumed that these monsters were spirits and not afflicted mortals.

Lycanthropy dates back all the way to the Second Unmaking. It is unknown if karakthropy is a relatively new mutation of the disease or if lycanthropy always had the ability to infect tengku and it's just that no one noticed earlier.

 

[Lizards of Renown]

But I already wrote an article about lycanthropy. Whatever will I do?

Korakthropy
Korakthropy is a rare mutation of the lycanthropy that afflict only tengku.

Humans and mammalian humanoids infected with lycanthropy can turn into a predatory animal (frequently but not always a wolf) and an animal humanoid hybrid. Tengku with Karakthropy always transform into a raven or a very large humanoid raven with very sharp claws and a very deadly beak.

Like lycanthropy, karakthropy nearly always ends with the afflicted tengku developing a fondness for random murder. Karakthropes are very hard to put down because they fly. They can murder a bunch of people in one village and then fly fifty miles to another village or even further. Ravens are fast and stealthy birds.

Late stage karakthropes are not invincible and they can brought down with ordinary weapons, but they have very fast supernatural regeneration so a lot of damage needs to be inflicted in a short amount of time to kill them.

Wounds inflicted by silver weapons, heal much slower taking hours or even days to disappear making this the preferred weapon of choice.Much like lycanthropes, the full the the inherit magic of the moon does not force a transformation or a killing spree. But any lycanthrope exposed to even a sliver of the full moon's light are exposed for what they are meaning they cannot hide in plain sight like they normally do. If the infected korakthrope has attracted organized armed resistance, most will choose to fly away to a remote location for the duration of the full moon rather than press the offensive (since their enemies will probably expect an attack on the full moon.

Lycanthropes often seek out their own kind and form small packs. Korakthropes are so rare it's almost impossible for such a group to form, but they have been seen to work in pairs in rare instances. The idea of korakthrope mated pairs has chilling implications but has yet to be proven.
Transmission & Vectors
A tenkgu can be infected is possible (though not guaranteed) to be transferred to a humanoid through a bite from a lycanthrope, assuming the subject survives the bite. A tengku is even more likely to be infected if wounded by a karakthrope, even if the victim was only scratched and not pecked.

Korakthropy can also be passed from parent to child though there have only been two recorded instances of an infected tengku having offspring. In one case the offspring manifested symptoms of Korakthropy at adolescence, in the other instance the offspring was slain as an infant when her father's condition was discovered and a magical divination spell revealed the chick was a carrier.

Tengku are not known for having especially strong libidos. Most tengku children are conceived by both parents making a plan rather than the accidental product of a night of passion. It has been noticed that stage one and two Korakthropes seem to radiate pheromones or some sort of vibe that makes them especially attracted to the opposite sex.
Symptoms
Stage One: Initially, the infected tengku feels good, if not great. They have more energy and vitality though the tengku has a noticeable increased appetite. They recover from their lyncanthrope inflicted injury quite quickly. Even their eyesight gets a bit sharper.

This period of increased energy can last for weeks or even months. Most tengku don't question anything is wrong because karakanthropy is so rare, most tengku haven't heard from it. They might question a human healer about lyncanthropy and either be told that lycanthropy only inflicts mammals not avians or they get explained the symptoms of stage one lycanthropy and then are relieved that they are not experiencing them.

Any increased vitality is usually rationalized as being a result of a brush with death leading to increased appreciation for life.

Stage Two: Headaches and dizziness. A lot of dreams about flying. Dreams about flying are common to even healthy tengku but these are especially vivid and intoxicating dreams. Increased irritability, sometimes accompanied by cravings for raw meat (note that tengku normally like their meat pretty rare to begin with).

Stage Three: The korakthrope starts transforming. Usually it takes a week or two at least for transformations to be fully controllable. Many tengku seek treatment at this stage, but many do not. Tengku with karakthropy can fly. That is something nearly all tengku secretly long for and it is hard to pass up even with the horrible strings attached.

Stage Four: The Korakthrope quickly develops bloodlust with a near constant urge to kill and eat things. Animals are okay in the short term, but mortal flesh is preferred and tengku flesh is preferred above all.

Frighteningly enough, karakanthropes typically have just enough restraint to lie low when organized hunters are seeking them out but not enough restraint to stop killing altogether. Lycanthropes on the other hand, typically do not have any restraint and will respond to hunters with automatic aggression.
Treatment
Rare herbs can be used to avoid the contagion of if the infected wound can be properly treated within a few days of the point of contact. The same medicines that treat early stage lycanthropy work on karakthropy (if someone thinks to use it, karakthropy is so rare many sages assume tengku are completely immune to the lycanthropy disease).Beyond this, only powerful magic usually amplified by an epic quest can cure an afflicted lycanthrope or korakthrope.

Most people, tengku included, choose to "cure" late stage korakthrope with several silver arrows to the torso.
History
The first recorded case of karakthropy was in 1157 though it is likely to have existed in some form before that. There are vague stories of humanoid raptor monsters in folklore long before that, though many storytellers and sages assumed that these monsters were spirits and not afflicted mortals.

Lycanthropy dates back all the way to the Second Unmaking. It is unknown if karakthropy is a relatively new mutation of the disease or if lycanthropy always had the ability to infect tengku and it's just that no one noticed earlier.

I like this idea of having a were-raven.

 

[Scalenex]

Here's the disease I came up with first before I realized it wasn't transmitted by a bite or sting.

Go to Scarterra Homepage
Elemental Fever
Elemental Fever is a disease that afflicts mages disproportionally often but it can and does spread through non-spellcasters. It also is far more common near magical fonts, so it clearly as a magical root cause.Elemental fever is not often fatal, but it is debilitating. The manifesting symptoms change very quickly.It typically runs it's course in a few weeks. If the afflicted person has another health condition, is recovering from an injury or is malnourished or overexerted, this can and often is fatal
Transmission & Vectors
This seems to be transmitted by proximity to magical energy. Person-to-person transmission is rare unless the people in question are using magic.Caretakers have very little risk of contracting the disease from their patients if they just seek non-magical treatments of the symptoms.
Symptoms
Elemental fever has rapidly changing symptoms going through earthy, watery, fiery, and airy phases. The afflicted subject typically gains and loses new symptoms every few hours as they cycle through all four elements multiple times a day.
Scarterran Symptoms
Airy: Dizzyness, sneezing fits, wheezing and coughing.

Earthy: Stomach aches, shortness of breath, constipation. Unexplained fatigue, vomiting

Watery: diarrhea, runny nose, dehydration, frequent urination.

Fiery: Fevers, irritability, sudden chills, insomnia.
Scaraquan Symptoms
Airy: Dizzyness, pressure sickness, light-headedness

Earthy: Stomach aches, constipation. Unexplained fatigue, vomiting, stiff limbs and fins

Watery: diarrhea, irritability, blurred vision, insomnia

Fiery: Fevers, irritability, sudden chills, insomnia.
Treatment
Magical cures can be applied, but if that's not available, the disease can be simply waited out. The symptoms just need to be addressed as they occur.
Affected Groups
Almost all humanoids are susceptible. Beasts seem susceptible to this to and can serve as carriers but their symptoms tend to be less severe.

This disease is roughly as common in Scarterra and Scaraqua.
Prevention
Avoid areas of high concentration of magic. Something easier said than done for mages or adventurers.
History
This is a common affliction now and seemed to have been a common affliction during the The Second Age. Presumably this is one of the many lasting effects of the First Unmaking.

Affected Species (I'm sure I missed a few but you get the idea, this is a disease for EVERYONE)

• camazotz
• gnolls
• Merfolk
• Karakhai aka sharkmen
• kalazotz
• kobolds
• Half-human hybrids
• orcs
• dwarves
• half-elves
• Astakalians aka Scuttlers
• elves
• gnomes
• humans
• goblins
• Metamorphs
• cyclopes
• tengku

 

[Lizards of Renown]

Here's the disease I came up with first before I realized it wasn't transmitted by a bite or sting.

Go to Scarterra Homepage
Elemental Fever
Elemental Fever is a disease that afflicts mages disproportionally often but it can and does spread through non-spellcasters. It also is far more common near magical fonts, so it clearly as a magical root cause.Elemental fever is not often fatal, but it is debilitating. The manifesting symptoms change very quickly.It typically runs it's course in a few weeks. If the afflicted person has another health condition, is recovering from an injury or is malnourished or overexerted, this can and often is fatal
Transmission & Vectors
This seems to be transmitted by proximity to magical energy. Person-to-person transmission is rare unless the people in question are using magic.Caretakers have very little risk of contracting the disease from their patients if they just seek non-magical treatments of the symptoms.
Symptoms
Elemental fever has rapidly changing symptoms going through earthy, watery, fiery, and airy phases. The afflicted subject typically gains and loses new symptoms every few hours as they cycle through all four elements multiple times a day.
Scarterran Symptoms
Airy: Dizzyness, sneezing fits, wheezing and coughing.Earthy: Stomach aches, shortness of breath, constipation. Unexplained fatigue, vomitingWatery: diarrhea, runny nose, dehydration, frequent urination.Fiery: Fevers, irritability, sudden chills, insomnia.
Scaraquan Symptoms
Airy: Dizzyness, pressure sickness, light-headednessEarthy: Stomach aches, constipation. Unexplained fatigue, vomiting, stiff limbs and finsWatery: diarrhea, irritability, blurred vision, insomniaFiery: Fevers, irritability, sudden chills, insomnia.
Treatment
Magical cures can be applied, but if that's not available, the disease can be simply waited out. The symptoms just need to be addressed as they occur.
Affected Groups
Almost all humanoids are susceptible. Beasts seem susceptible to this to and can serve as carriers but their symptoms tend to be less severe.

This disease is roughly as common in Scarterra and Scaraqua.
Prevention
Avoid areas of high concentration of magic. Something easier said than done for mages or adventurers.
History
This is a common affliction now and seemed to have been a common affliction during the The Second Age. Presumably this is one of the many lasting effects of the First Unmaking.

Affected Species (I'm sure I missed a few but you get the idea)

• camazotz
• gnolls
• Merfolk
• Karakhai aka sharkmen
• kalazotz
• kobolds
• Half-human hybrids
• orcs
• dwarves
• half-elves
• Astakalians aka Scuttlers
• elves
• gnomes
• humans
• goblins
• Metamorphs
• cyclopes
• tengku

This is also a very good idea.

It's funny, I'm not a seasoned and grizzled veteran of D&D and the like, but I've hardly ever heard of magical diseases...

 

[Scalenex]

This is also a very good idea.

It's funny, I'm not a seasoned and grizzled veteran of D&D and the like, but I've hardly ever heard of magical diseases...

Probably because magical diseases are not that commonly included. Most magical diseases they have are intended to spawn monsters such as lycanthropy, ghoul fever, and various parasite based faux-pregnancy ala Aliens.

Magical diseases are more for survivalist horror than heroic fantasy and most D&D players prefer heroic fantasy and at a certain level you can just have the party cleric cast Remove Disease whenever this pops up.

The PCs in my current group do not have the magical ability to cure Elemental Fever or any other disease at will but they do have a magical wand that cure diseases or curses 20 times and they only used two charges.

I suppose if I want to, now I can make the players make Stamina rolls after a magic heavy fight to see if they contract Elemental Fever afterwards, but that might be a waste of time. It would just look like I was arbitrarily making them use wand charges.

Magical diseases work better in fantasy/sci fi literature and fantasy/sci fi movies/TV. Give the protagonist a ticking clock. The protagonist generally have to not only find a cure, but complete their main story objective while fighting off the rising symptoms. Star Trek uses this a lot. Game of Thrones used this once or twice. The recent Van Helsing movie had this.

 

[Scalenex]

I am starting to profile Scarterra's royalty. Here is the queen of Swynfaredia. I feel like I omitting something important....

Gwendolyn ap Numaness
Queen
The queen has five children, three daughters and two sons. The eldest two daughters are clearly squibs. The eldest daughter opted to take a few thousand gold pieces and left the country and renounced her family name. The second eldest joined the Children The other three children are two young to tell if their dragon blood bred true, but her eldest son, the second youngest is showing signs of being an early bloomer for sorcery and is thus the family's golden child.
Mental Characteristics
Education
The best tutors Swynfaredia can provide.
Accomplishments & Achievements
Gwendolyn is a competent administrator and is a Master Transmuter.
Failures & Embarrassments
Her two eldest children are squibs who by all accounts hate her guts. Her third eldest child could very turn out to be a squib too.
Personality Characteristics
Personality Quirks
Generally she is an even handed ruler and favors subtlety, but she cannot resist showing off her great skill in Transmutation making gratuitous magical entrances when traveling short distances and using polymorph magic to punish criminals.
Social
Religious Views
Nonreligious, but she will make token public displays piety for political or image related reasons.


Game Stats Willpower 8
Dexterity 3, Strength 2, Stamina 3, Appearance 3, Charisma 4, Manipulation 4, Intelligence 3, Perception 3, Wits 3
Abilities: Alertness 1, Athletics 1, Brawl 1, Commerce 3, Dodge 2, Empathy 3, Enigmas 2, Etiquette 4, Expression 2, Hearth Wisdom 1, History 3, Intimidation 3, Investigation 3, Leadership 4, Melee 2, Performance 2, Politics 3, Seneschal 3, Stealth 1, Subterfuge 4, Theology 1
Rare Abilities: Arcana 2, Spellcraft 3, Use Magic Device 1
Arcane Magic: Abjuration 2, Divination 4, Transmutation 5
Current Location
Land of Swynfaredia
Species
humans
Conditions

• Sorcery

Ethnicity
Swynfaredian humans
Age
42
Circumstances of Birth
She was the rightful heir of the late king of Swynfaredia.
Biological Sex
female
Aligned Organization
Kingdom of Swynfaredia
Other Affiliations

• House Numaness

Known Languages
Common, Elven, Draconic, Dwarven


Next up I'm going to profile the patriarch of House Numaness (the queen's uncle. Politics is messy because in some sense, both the queen and the Numaness outrank each other in some sense.

I'm not sure how well they want to get along. They are going to be on the same side most of the time. The queen is supposed to rule all of Swynfaredia and the Patriarch is supposed to look out for the interests of House Numaness (and having the queen and the heir being Numaness is nice) but the Queen cannot be as blatantly favoring to her house as her uncle.

 

[Scalenex]

The Swynfaredian Royal Court looks like this!

The Dragon's Scales
The Dragon's Scales is arguably the most important appointment the Queen of Swynfaredia. The Dragon Scales is part bodyguard, part spymaster, and part confidante.

The Dragon's Scales is responsible with the magical protection of the crown of Swynfaredia. The Dragon's Scale's is responsible for not only the queen's bodily safety but also her secrets which means protecting her from magical scrying spells and detecting hostile magics.
Qualifications
The Dragon's Scales must be highly skilled in Abjuration magic. Divination and Enchantment are also valued. Combat skill is also valued. Wise counsel is also valued. Leadership skills are valued. The Dragon's Scales often have to wear many hats indeed.

Above all, the queen's trust is what is needed because the Dragon's Scales is spends more time alone with the queen than anyone else.
Duties
Protect the queen from harm and espionage.
Benefits
Money, lots of prestige, and the ear of the queen.
Accoutrements & Equipment
A badge with a representation of dragon scales on it.
Grounds For Removal/Dismissal
They can be dismissed at anytime by the current queen.

The Dragon's Eyes
The Dragon's Eyes is the spymaster for the Queen of Swynfaredia balancing both magical espionage techniques with a small army of mundane spies in all areas of society.

A powerful but not always respected position in Swynfaredia's royal court.
Qualifications
Be good at espionage. Skill in magical divination, Enchantment, and/or Illusions is a plus.
Duties
Find valuable information for the queen and thwart enemy plots before they happen.
Benefits
Money, prestige, and the ear of the queen.
Accoutrements & Equipment
A badge with a draconic eye on it though this appointee is less likely to brandish his badge than other royal appointees.
Grounds For Removal/Dismissal
He or she can be dismissed at anytime by the current Queen, but it is very dangerous to cut a disgruntled spymaster loose.

The Dragon's Breath
The Dragon's Breath is the Queen of Swynfaredia's chief magical enforcer. Part body guard, soldier, and sometimes executioner.
Qualifications
The Dragon's Breath must be skilled at magical invocation. Usually, the Dragon's Breath is expected to be able handle himself in a sword fight as well. Tactical acumen and facility with Abjuration magic is also a plus.
Duties
The Dragon's Breath primary duty is to destroy things the queen wants destroyed.
Benefits
Money and prestige.
Accoutrements & Equipment
A badge of a dragon breathing fire.
Grounds For Removal/Dismissal
Given how dangerous this role is, most Dragon's Breath die in the line of duty. They can also be dismissed at anytime by the current Queen.

The Dragon's Wings
The Dragon's Wing is responsible for procuring transportation for the Queen of Swynfaredia.
Qualifications
The Dragon's Wing must know several mobility spells in the School of Transmutation or Conjuration, ideally both.
Responsibilities
Ferry the queen and/or other VIPs to their destinations quickly and safely.
Benefits
Money and prestige
Accoutrements & Equipment
A badge with a dragon's wing
Grounds For Removal/Dismissal
They can be dismissed at anytime by the current Queen.

The current queen actually holds this office because she is capable of casting her own mobility spells and likes to show off (and it gives her herald one more title to say).

The Dragon's Aura
The Dragon's Aura is the most universally reviled member of the Queen of Swynfaredia's major appointments.The Dragon's Aura is responsible of casting enchantment spells on behalf the queen and realm's interests. The Dragon's Aura is often reviled because this job routinely involves invading and controlling the minds of others.
Qualifications
Core requirement is to be highly skilled in Enchantment magic. Strong interpersonal skills and a strong will are a highly valued. Skill in Divination or Illusion magic is also valued.
Duties
Force obedience out of those who unjustly resist the Crown and the Realm.
Benefits
Money and prestige, or at least notoriety.
Accoutrements & Equipment
A badge depicting a dragon's shadow.
Grounds For Removal/Dismissal
He or she can be dismissed at anytime by the current Queen.

The Dragon's Voice
The Dragon's Voice is the only "Dragon" title in the Queen of Swynfaredia court that does require the title holder to be a dragon blooded sorcerer.

Roughly akin to chancellor, given that the Chancellor regularly meets diplomats and ambassadors and it often helps to not be a magic user. Since more foreign diplomats and ambassadors are weary of magic be cast against them, it often puts them at ease to negotiate with a non-spell caster.

By most accounts, the Dragon's voice is the highest office a squib can expect to get, and Swynfaredia has a LOT of ambitious squibs, so this position is hotly contested.
Qualifications
Have a quick wit and be socially adept. It helps to have good recall for facts and a knowledge of history and etiquette.
Duties
Carry out diplomatic efforts on behalf of the queen.
Accoutrements & Equipment
A badge with a dragon tongue on it. It has been pointed out by outsiders that the Voice of the Dragon literally displays a forked tongue.
Grounds For Removal/Dismissal
They can be dismissed at anytime by the current Queen.

 

[Scalenex]

I couldn't sleep because I kept coming up with Swynfaredian profanity.

It occurred to me that swear words and profanity makes mockery of whatever society considers sacred. This makes Swynfaredian vulgar argot easy to come up with. Anything that treats the idea of dragons flippantly would qualify.


The Dragon’s Arse: Anyone on the outs with the queen. This has also trickled downhill so that anyone at any level of society can be “the Dragon’s Arse” if their boss is mad at them. “Since the guard accidentally let the thief escape, the captain has made him the Dragon’s Arse.”


The Dragon’s Gaping Nut Sack: Anyone who is viewed as a liability to their family, unit, court, organization or anything else. “Sir Reginald cannot keep a secret to save his life. He is really the Dragon’s Gaping Nut Sack in this court.”


The Dragon’s Molted Scales: Never mind that real dragon’s don’t molt or shed their scales. This is a term for anyone that is expendable. “Look where we are being assigned on the battle line! We are the dragon’s molted scales!”


The Dragon’s Frills: Definition 1: The Dragon’s Frills is a derogatory term for any dragon blooded noble that is utterly useless or otherwise unqualified for the position they are holding.

Definition 2: The illegitimate lover of a dragon blooded noble.


The Dragon’s Nose: Anyone given a temporary assignment by the queen or some other high ranking noble.


The Dragon’s Egg: A pregnant sorceress. Moderately less disrespectful than the other items on this list.


Dragon Fly: A non-noble sorcerer/ess or low ranking noble sorcerer/ess with pretentions above his/her station.


Thurakel Flower: A commoner (usually female) that is trying to sleep with a dragon blooded noble.


“I am the Dragon’s Total Indifference”: The Swynfaredian equivalent of “Talk to the hand, cause the face ain’t listening.”


The Dragon’s Shiny Crest: A noble who is especially arrogant.


The Dragon’s Hoard: Anything really good. “You got to try the pies at the shop in the bakery in the Gnome Quarter, it’s the Dragon’s Hoard.”


“A Dragon’s Humility”: Something that is hard to believe. “I do not believe you killed six orcs single handedly any more than I believe a Dragon’s Humility.”


Half-Dragon: Figurative term for a bastard child of a Swynfaredian noble conceived with a non-magical person. Note, literal half-dragons are actually treated with respect.


Witch-blood: Derogatory term for a sorcerer with no or merely weak draconic heritage.


Dragon's Booger: Sarcastic mocking celebration, the equivalent of "whoopty-freaking-do" in modern times. "Ooooh, you bought a magical potion of a first circle spell! Aren't you the Dragon's Booger."


Swineherdian: Mocking term other nations refer to Swynfaredians by. Some go even further bringing pigs into everything. It's a deadly insult to call the Dragon's Breath, the Swine's Breath for instance. (Honestly, do you want to insult someone who was appointed solely for their ability to blow things up with magic?).

 

[Lizards of Renown]

I couldn't sleep because I kept coming up with Swynfaredian profanity.

It occurred to me that swear words and profanity makes mockery of whatever society considers sacred. This makes Swynfaredian vulgar argot easy to come up with. Anything that treats the idea of dragons flippantly would qualify.


The Dragon’s Arse: Anyone on the outs with the queen. This has also trickled downhill so that anyone at any level of society can be “the Dragon’s Arse” if their boss is mad at them. “Since the guard accidentally let the thief escape, the captain has made him the Dragon’s Arse.”


The Dragon’s Gaping Nut Sack: Anyone who is viewed as a liability to their family, unit, court, organization or anything else. “Sir Reginald cannot keep a secret to save his life. He is really the Dragon’s Gaping Nut Sack in this court.”


The Dragon’s Molted Scales: Never mind that real dragon’s don’t molt or shed their scales. This is a term for anyone that is expendable. “Look where we are being assigned on the battle line! We are the dragon’s molted scales!”


The Dragon’s Frills: Definition 1: The Dragon’s Frills is a derogatory term for any dragon blooded noble that is utterly useless or otherwise unqualified for the position they are holding.

Definition 2: The illegitimate lover of a dragon blooded noble.


The Dragon’s Nose: Anyone given a temporary assignment by the queen or some other high ranking noble.


The Dragon’s Egg: A pregnant sorceress. Moderately less disrespectful than the other items on this list.


Dragon Fly: A non-noble sorcerer/ess or low ranking noble sorcerer/ess with pretentions above his/her station.


Thurakel Flower: A commoner (usually female) that is trying to sleep with a dragon blooded noble.


“I am the Dragon’s Total Indifference”: The Swynfaredian equivalent of “Talk to the hand, cause the face ain’t listening.”


The Dragon’s Shiny Crest: A noble who is especially arrogant.


The Dragon’s Hoard: Anything really good. “You got to try the pies at the shop in the bakery in the Gnome Quarter, it’s the Dragon’s Hoard.”


“A Dragon’s Humility”: Something that is hard to believe. “I do not believe you killed six orcs single handedly any more than I believe a Dragon’s Humility.”


Half-Dragon: Figurative term for a bastard child of a Swynfaredian noble conceived with a non-magical person. Note, literal half-dragons are actually treated with respect.


Witch-blood: Derogatory term for a sorcerer with no or merely weak draconic heritage.


Dragon's Booger: Sarcastic mocking celebration, the equivalent of "whoopty-freaking-do" in modern times. "Ooooh, you bought a magical potion of a first circle spell! Aren't you the Dragon's Booger."


Swineherdian: Mocking term other nations refer to Swynfaredians by. Some go even further bringing pigs into everything. It's a deadly insult to call the Dragon's Breath, the Swine's Breath for instance. (Honestly, do you want to insult someone who was appointed solely for their ability to blow things up with magic?).

This is fantastic. I always love it in an epic fantasy series when the author comes up with his/her own vocabulary for the world (makes it much more believable and thus I get more immersed in their world).

These are good ones. Fitting with the theme and era-esque language.

 

[Scalenex]

This is fantastic. I always love it in an epic fantasy series when the author comes up with his/her own vocabulary for the world (makes it much more believable and thus I get more immersed in their world).

These are good ones. Fitting with the theme and era-esque language.

I'm trying to keep going with this. Kantoc culture is centered around horsemanship so they probably have a lot of horse based idioms.

There are hundreds if not thousands of horse based idioms online. I really like wild west slang but since I'm creating a sword and sorcery world I should probably don't want to have too many wild west idioms, though I really do like "dusted" (referring to being thrown from the saddle).

Not a whole lot of horse based slang is fantasy because so much of it is in the real world, some of it carried into the modern day.

Mule: Derogatory term for a half-human.

Green Mule: Derogatory term for a half-orc

Ear Mule: Half-elf (though half elves are not sterile like other mules, the name is still used).

Unicorn: Person with divine magic powers.

Pegasus: Person with arcane magic powers.

Pony Rider: Gnome

I'll keep working at it.

Borderlanders probably have a lot of idioms related to the rough terrain they live in.

I'm not sure what idioms Fumaya would have but they are sandwiched between larger stronger realms so they probably pick up a lot of idioms from the dwarves, wood elves, and Swynfaredians.

 

[Lizards of Renown]

I'm trying to keep going with this. Kantoc culture is centered around horsemanship so they probably have a lot of horse based idioms.

There are hundreds if not thousands of horse based idioms online. I really like wild west slang but since I'm creating a sword and sorcery world I should probably don't want to have too many wild west idioms, though I really do like "dusted" (referring to being thrown from the saddle).

Not a whole lot of horse based slang is fantasy because so much of it is in the real world, some of it carried into the modern day.

Mule: Derogatory term for a half-human.

Green Mule: Derogatory term for a half-orc

Ear Mule: Half-elf (though half elves are not sterile like other mules, the name is still used).

Unicorn: Person with divine magic powers.

Pegasus: Person with arcane magic powers.

Pony Rider: Gnome

I'll keep working at it.

Borderlanders probably have a lot of idioms related to the rough terrain they live in.

I'm not sure what idioms Fumaya would have but they are sandwiched between larger stronger realms so they probably pick up a lot of idioms from the dwarves, wood elves, and Swynfaredians.

As a note, not that I've read through whatever you've posted already on languages, but for me it is ESSENTIAL that the STYLE or DIALECT is nailed down for each group.

As a reader (and fledgling author) I have a lot of attention on this as it really jars me out of being immersed in the story line when someone who is supposed to be a rustic yokel says something like "cool". Or someone who is supposed to be aristocratic uses a word which is mostly used by teenagers.

Not sure if you've already nailed down how each race/group sounds but I'd recommend doing that before getting any further into the language as it will affect what words they use.

Anyways, you've probably already thought of this but just thought I'd mention it.